


Inadequacy and Chocolates

by Hisamemiki



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Pining, Self-Loathing, Teen for language, Valentine's Day Fluff, prompto is a soft boy please protect him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 21:03:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9786935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisamemiki/pseuds/Hisamemiki
Summary: So of course his heart had to go and betray him with all these awful gay feelings. Classic Prompto.





	

**Author's Note:**

> happy valentine's day!  
> wait, what do you mean it's the 16th?
> 
> EDIT: PLS LOOK AT THIS GORGEOUS COMIC BY JACIOPARA IT'S GORGEOUS THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!! http://jaciopara.tumblr.com/post/158083633352/i-drew-this-during-valentines-and-never-finished

Up until recently, Valentine's Day had never really been something Prompto paid a whole lot of attention to. When he was younger, attending middle school, his classmates would be too busy teasing each other about how much pity chocolate they'd gotten to really pay much attention to him, and he was much too reserved and shy to receive any sort of gifts himself. Later, as he shed the extra weight and gained some self-confidence he'd get the occasional store-bought chocolate from a cute girl, but it never really went anywhere and usually ended with Prompto stuffing his face so he wouldn't have to deal with the guilt of just throwing them out. The one plus was the huge sales stores usually had the days following, meaning Prompto could stock up on those chocolate-covered chips he liked without paying with one of his limbs. All and all, the holiday ended up feeling like just any other day, usually passed by without much of a thought. 

 

Of course, like many other aspects of his life, this changed after he befriended Noct.

 

Prince Noctis was cool, handsome, talented, and important; everything Prompto wished he could be, and wasn't. Even spending time with the boy and learning some of his less savoury quirks (like his incredible brattiness and adamant refusal to eat anything green that wasn't mint ice cream) didn't deter him from the fact that this was the fucking _Prince_ , and that he was kind and charismatic (sometimes) and just all around incredible in every possible way. Prompto was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that he would spend hours lazing around on a couch in his boxers playing King's Knight with the future ruler of the whole damn country. Hell, he was still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Noctis thought of him as a friend at _all_. It was a friendship he'd cherish until the day he died, if something didn't ruin it before then.

 

So of course his heart had to go and betray him with all these awful gay feelings. Classic Prompto.

 

He was walking with Noct to the Crow's Nest after school, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his uniform in an attempt to ward off the bite of early February weather. Shops had obviously begun to stock their Valentine's merch, as pink and red boxes were displayed in storefronts as far as Prompto could see, advertised with awful, guilt-trippy slogans like 'Only The Best Girlfriends Get Their Man Ebony.' Even the Crow's Nest had a set of cheap, dollar store heart decorations hung on the windows with sloppily-written posters on red construction paper advertising their new Valentine's menu, and someone had taped some big hearts over the eyes of the awful Kenny statue outside, as if this place could ever be romantic. When he points it out to Noct, laughing at Kenny's crooked heart eyes, the exasperated groan that the Prince lets out from beside him makes Prompto chuckle slightly.

 

"What's the matter, buddy? Don't like the holiday?" He elbows Noct playfully.

 

"No," was his reply, very matter-of-factly.

 

"Aw, why not?" Prompto grinned. "Are you telling me that the handsome Prince who gets swarms of gifts from screaming fans doesn't like Valentine's Day? How could you!"

 

Noct just grunts in response and pushes Prompto aside, shuffling to the counter to order their usual meals. Prompto sits down in their usual booth in his usual seat, the whole motion like clockwork from over a year of repetition, and stares out the window at the storefronts. He knew Noct hated all the attention, but he tried imagining what would happen if he gave the Prince one of those extravagant-looking boxes. Would he be grossed out by it? No, he knew Noct didn't care about that sort of thing. Realistically, he'd just accept it with a wave of his hand, and add it to the pile for Ignis to melt down and bake into a cake like they did with the extras last year (it was a really good cake). He probably wouldn't see it as anything more than friendship chocolates, anyway.

 

Prompto sighs a little louder than he'd like, and leans his head against the window. He thought having a crush meant Valentine's Day could actually mean something other than cheap chocolate, but all it was doing was making his distaste for the holiday grow, and it was a special feat to get Prompto to dislike chocolate.

 

His gaze at the storefronts is interrupted by the clack of Noct setting the tray down on the table, and he sits upright to grab his burger. 

 

"Does something about that stuff interest you? You seemed pretty absorbed in it." Noct asks, raising an eyebrow. 

 

"What? Ahaha, no!" He laughs, deflecting the idea. "I was just thinking about getting one of those reaaaally big ones from a really cute girl."

 

Noct shrugs, and takes a bite of his burger. "You can have some of mine," he replies, with his mouth full. 

 

"Dude, it's not the same. It's not about the chocolate itself, it's about the girls!"

 

He shrugs again, in the process of ripping the lid off his pop to chug it faster. Prompto crosses his arms and pouts.

 

"You have no idea how lucky you are, man." 

 

Noct is too absorbed in his drink to even shrug in response for a third time, so the blond drops the topic and starts downing his fries. The conversation naturally moves to King's Knight and games as it always does and man, does Prompto love watching Noct talk about things he cares about. 

 

The Prince was rarely very expressive, and most people who've only met Noct once or twice just assume his resting bitch face is the only expression he's capable of making. For the most part it was true, but he did smile on occasion and Prompto felt that because Noct's smiles were so rare, it made each and every one so much better. It'd start with something as simple as the 5 star mage he recently pulled, and once you got him started he'd light up, his eyes narrowing slightly as the muscles in his cheeks moved with the gesture. It was a subtle change, barely noticeable if one wasn't looking, but Prompto was definitely looking. A lot. He always thought about reaching out and poking the small dent at the upturned corner of Noct's mouth, where his lips parted slightly and revealed a sliver of white teeth underneath. Maybe he'd lean in and kiss it a little, after running his finger down and brushing it gently against his bottom lip. It looked soft, like he could take it between his teeth and-

 

"Prom?"

 

Prompto leaps a good inch off his seat. "Huh- Uh, yeah, Noct?"

 

"I was asking what kinds of accessories I should use. A Talisman is a given, but-"

 

"Sorry, man." He smiles slightly, apologetically. "I'm feelin' kinda out of it today. Math takes its toll on even the strongest of men, ya know?" He watches Noctis nod, understandingly, before popping another fry into his mouth.

 

"Yeah, I get it. I'll get Iggy to drive you home?" 

 

"Nah, I promised mom I'd pick up some groceries on the way, so I'll just walk." 

 

Noct hums gently in response, shoving his leftover fries haphazardly into his bag. "Cool. I'm gonna do some grinding tonight, so sorry if I ignore you." 

 

"Nah, I get it. Gotta level them mages." 

 

Noct hops out of the booth before him, offering his hand to help pull Prompto upwards, and the blond has to try his damnedest to focus on absolutely anything but the warmth of Noct's fingers around his own to avoid blushing heavily. Immediately after he lets go, Prompto shoves his hand in his pocket in an attempt to preserve the heat, and gives a brisk wave to his friend with the other hand as they go their separate ways in front of the diner. If his hangouts with the Prince kept ending like this, Prompto thought to himself, he wasn't sure he had a whole lot of days left to live before his heart gave out.

 

\--

 

Prompto really had promised he'd go shopping, so he took a quick detour around his regular route home to stop at a nearby supermarket. He was secretly hoping he'd get a break from it all, but he knew that even here the Valentine's merch curse would be as prevalent as ever, and the blond was constantly skirting around shelves of hot pink heart-shaped boxes to avoid the temptation of actually buying one for Noct. It was easy enough in produce ('accidentally' picking out two apples instead of the three his mom had requested so he could spend the extra money on pepper and spices), but as he wheeled his cart through crowds of people and got closer to the tills, the gross display of candies got harder and harder to avoid, and Prompto was fully ready to throw his wallet at the cashier and make a break for it-

 

And then he saw it.

 

Sitting on the bottom shelf of a particularly eye-burning pink display was a small rectangular box of navy chocolates (Noct's third favourite colour, after black and dark grey). They seemed to be chocolate-coated cookies with a mint-flavoured paste inside, and Prompto knew he was doomed when he imagined giving the sweets to the other boy and by the gods he's never thrown something into his cart faster. He swore he saw the cashier chuckle at him when he set the chocolates down on the conveyer belt, red up to his ears, and that only made him blush harder and awkwardly splutter his way through his socially required greetings. If Prompto became this guy's weird customer story he was going to be pissed, but he probably deserved it with the way he ran out of the store, bags in hand, like his pants are ablaze.

 

His parents aren't home, as usual. They often worked late, which left Prompto alone with his thoughts more often than he liked. All the groceries were unpacked and put away in their place, except for the small box of chocolates, which he had set down in the very centre of their tiny dining room table. It was finally dark out, but Prompto hadn't been home long enough to go around and turn all the lights on, so the small hanging lamp above the table was the only source of light inside, placing a giant spotlight on the one thing he didn't want to acknowledge.

 

He felt like he was interrogating a stupid box of Valentine's chocolates.

 

"I can't believe I actually bought you," he says, out loud, to a box of sweets, and oh gods Noct really was driving him insane wasn't he?

 

The box had nothing to say, but Prompto could just imagine it teasing him about how bad he had it for his best friend, and how out of his fucking league said best friend was, and he resists every urge to toss the damn thing out the window for its imaginary insults and instead settles for lobbing it into his backpack. At least he wouldn't have to look at it. Or think about it, ever again.

 

He was not giving those chocolates to Noctis. He'd eat them himself, if he had to.

 

Attempting to distract himself with King's Knight proved fruitless, as every time he saw the mage's sprites he was just reminded of Noct and his smile, the tiny, upward tilt of his lips and the stars he saw in his friend's eyes. He gave up and threw his phone with a frustrated groan after he absentmindedly sent his mage out in front of several axe knights, undefended, and lost a good chunk of points for losing a skirmish. He reminds himself to chew Noct out for it.

 

"Fine! I'll just go to bed, then!" he yells, at no one in particular (definitely not that stupid box of chocolate), and he grabs his phone off the floor and begins stripping out of his uniform. He just needs some rest, to get Noct out of his head but he was Prompto Argentum and the gods had it out for him, so of course that was the very moment his friend decided to text him. 

 

**From Noct:**

hey bud whatcha doin on boring-tines day

 

**To Noct:**

that was a terrible pun, man. i dont think theres even a pun in there, actually.

 

**To Noct:**

and nothing. 

 

**From Noct:**

k cool ur coming back w/ me after school that day then

 

**From Noct:**

iggys gonna make dinner and a cake w/ all the choco like last year

 

Great, that's exactly what he needs. A Valentine's dinner with his crush.

He couldn't exactly turn Noct down, though, that would be suspicious. 

 

**To Noct:**

yeah sure!! mmmm im already excited about that cake

 

**From Noct:**

ikr the one good thing to come out of this

 

**From Noct:**

glad u dont have a gf cause that means u can spend all day w/ me hell yea 

 

Prompto abstains from responding, instead choosing to roll over and scream as loud as he can into his pillow. 

 

\--

 

The stupid chocolates make the bottom of Prompto's backpack their home for the next two weeks, and every time he looks at them he changes his mind about whether he's going to give them to Noct, even just as friend chocolates, or just eat them himself. He swears his backpack gets heavier each day, that gods-damned box weighing on not just his shoulders but on his soul, but he still can't bring himself to throw them out.

 

The morning of Judgement Day arrives, and the chocolates-no chocolates switch is very firmly on the 'no chocolates' side at first. Prompto is about to take the burden out of his bag once and for all before Noct texts him a stupid Valentine's card emblazoned with Chocobos that reads 'Are you a Chocobo? Cause I want to ride you all day!' and he grins like a moron at his phone screen and falls in love all over again, and that strengthens his resolve to suck it up and give the boy the damn chocolates.

 

So there he was, walking to school with the box stuffed into his jacket pocket, a small tag with his name on it tucked gently under the ribbon, ready to throw that box into Noct's locker and run away until the Prince finds it. The last step was less than ideal, but everything up until that point was stressing Prompto out enough as it was, so he was just going to have to deal with the fact that he isn't _that_ brave.

 

The first obstacle in Prompto's plan of attack turns out to be the hoard of classmates gathering around Noct's locker. Even through the crowd he can see the ever-growing pile of gifts stacked precariously, leaning up against the lockers and Prompto was genuinely worried that the whole thing was going to come crashing down and kill someone in a freak chocolate accident. He gives a moment of silence for the poor souls who happened to be locker mates with the Prince, and he hopes they were smart enough to get here early. A girl standing next to him expertly tosses her box onto the very top of the pile, without disturbing it in the slightest, and her friends cheer her on as more people take the incentive to add their gifts onto the pile as well. Prompto knows Noct isn't going to go through all of these, so he shuffles around everyone trying to get a better look and heads towards their homeroom. He'll just slip it into Noct's desk and everything'll be fine....

 

Except for the fact that the Prince's desk was just as stuffed, with a small mountain of decorated boxes that was tall enough to block Noct's view of the front of the class if he were to sit down (which was impossible, as parts of the mountain had fallen down onto the chair as well). They were going to have a hell of a time moving all of these later. As he slides by, attempting to reach his own seat, a particularly large box similar to the ones he'd been looking at at the Crow's Nest slides out from the pile and causes a small avalanche of gifts onto Prompto's desk (which is directly in front of Noct's) and he suddenly understands how Noct's locker mates must feel. He groans in frustration and squats down to start cleaning some of the boxes out of the way so he could actually sit down, but the thin line of his own present protruding from his pocket catches his eye instead. He stares at it for a bit, before glancing back at the flood in front of him, and he can't help but compare them.

 

"Damnit," he curses under his breath.  There's no way that Noct was ever going to care about and read every single one of these. If he was going to give him these chocolates, he was going to make damn sure he knew they were from Prompto and not have them lost in an infinite pile of gifts, but even if he did know, would he even care? Several waves of inadequacy wash over him, and he catches himself staring at the largest box (which apparently contains designer chocolate, according to the label) on the floor, wishing he could afford to get something like that for Noct. Each one of these boxes was from someone hoping for the same thing Prompto was, and most of them were probably cuter, or richer, or more talented than him, so what even was the point? 

 

He clears a couple boxes off his own desk that had fallen from Noct's mountain (subtly checking that they were indeed for Noctis and not him, and of course they were). He resists the urge to just throw it out and shoves his stupid box back into his bag, and rests his head on the desk trying not to think too hard about his own shortcomings when he hears the Prince's voice at the doorway.

 

"Ah, you've got to be fucking kidding me. There's _more_."

 

Eager to prove that he wasn't on the verge of tears over a stupid box of chocolates, Prompto shoots up and leans back in his chair, nonchalantly, trying to keep his voice from cracking.

 

"Yeah, can you like, move them, Noct? I keep getting hit in the back of the head with the ones that are falling and it's really annoying." 

 

He watches the Prince cover his face and groan into his hands, and he replies with some angry muffled mumbling that sounds something like 'I'm gonna need to get Iggy to bring the damn limo'. 

 

He helps Noct move them off his desk and piles them neatly under it, as a temporary solution until they could get Ignis and Gladio here to help them move them all. Noct grabs the biggest box, the stupid designer chocolate, pulls it onto his desk and opens it up, tossing the letter attached aside. He picks a piece up, inspecting it, before popping the confection into his mouth.

 

Prompto spins around in his seat so he's facing the Prince, leaning forwards on the back of the chair. "You're actually eating them?" He inquires, ignoring the growing pains in his chest.

 

"Yeah. I heard Iggy's making some sort of awful vegetable dish tonight to spite me, so if I eat all this chocolate I'll be too full to actually have any of it." He shrugs, and offers Prompto a piece. "Want some?"

 

He takes it and reluctantly places it in his mouth, and hates himself even more when it's the most delicious thing he's ever consumed in his poor, unfortunate life. "Not bad," he chokes out.

 

"Yeah, I've had way better. They're aight, though." He pushes another one past his lips, and Prompto turns back around to prevent himself from staring, taking a couple deep breaths to push back the sobs threatening to spill out. Today was going to be a long day. 

 

\--

 

Prompto was right, it was a long day.

 

Every second felt like an hour as he scribbled uselessly in the margins of his papers, not bothering to actually take notes as focusing was damn near impossible. He could feel the cold stares of everyone in the classroom, some jealous of Noct's stash, but most waiting eagerly for him to get to their gifts and praying to every god in the book that he'd somehow take interest in theirs out of the millions he'd received. Noct himself looked frustrated by the end of it, with people flocking to him during breaks and asking if they liked theirs, or if they wanted the recipe, and when the bell signalling his gods-damned freedom finally rang Prompto nearly cried from relief. Frankly, he was probably going to cry anyway at some point today, so doing so out of sheer happiness was sounding like the best way to go.

 

It took the four of them, Ignis and Gladio included, forty-five minutes to move every single one of Noct's chocolates into the extra-long stretch limousine Ignis borrowed from the Citadel. When Prompto slides himself into the back seat, he has to push a pile out of the way to pull his seatbelt over. Noct is in the space beside him, and has an open box perched on a stack in his lap that he was currently snacking out of. 

 

"I hope you're reading all the letters and not just forgoing them for the chocolate, Noct," Ignis spoke up from the driver's seat while they were parked at a busy intersection.

 

"What? No," he replies, with his mouth full of chocolate. "I don't wanna read 'em."

 

Ignis starts to lecture Noct on talking with his mouth full before (thankfully) being interrupted by Gladio. "C'mon, man, all these girls put their heart into those letters hoping you'll read 'em. And guys, too, but the point stands."

 

The pout on Noct's face was obvious. "But I don't care. I'm not interested in dating any of them, so there's no point." 

 

"Still, you should read them," Ignis turns back in his seat and motions towards Prompto. "Prompto, what would you do if you wrote Noct a heartfelt letter and he didn't even look at it?"

 

Prompto's hands immediately snap to hold his bag in place, fearing one of them had snooped around while he wasn't looking. "Huh? What, well, I mean- I wouldn't care if he e-enjoyed the chocolate!" 

 

"See? Prom wouldn't care, so it's fine." 

 

"Yeah, but Prom's kind of a pushover an' listens to anything you say," Gladio retorts.

 

"I am not a pushover!" Prompto's grip on his bag is so tight he's worried a wrong move might rip it in two. 

 

A long drawn-out sigh comes from the front of the car, Ignis rubbing his temples with the hand not on the steering wheel, and traffic finally moves enough for the limo to fit past and into the parking lot of Noct's apartment building.

 

Another forty-five minutes to move everything upstairs passes (although this turn was easier, due to the elevator), and Prompto collapses onto Noct's couch with a sigh. 

 

Noctis's apartment was everything you'd expect the teenaged Prince's apartment to be: fancy and comfortable, yet not flashy. The flooring was shiny, polished hardwood with a fuzzy white rug placed at Prompto's feet beneath the couch, and the walls a beige yellow. Most the furniture was wood to compliment the flooring, and even the large L-shaped couch was a woody brown to fit into the aesthetic. A small kitchen was directly adjacent from him (that he's never seen Noct use before in the year or so they've been friends) with a marble dining table, with seating for four, matching the counters. Noct's room was down a short hallway past the kitchen, towards the front door, along with a handful of guest rooms and facilities, all with the same marble-hardwood design. The whole thing was bigger than Prompto's house, and he was glad Noctis was at least somewhat humble with his living space so that he didn't have to eat Ignis's cooking off of rhinestone plates worth more than him and his family's entire lives, and then some.

 

The unopened chocolates had been thrown on the left side of the couch, up until the bend, and the boxes Noct were currently working on were tossed onto the glass coffee table at his and Prompto's feet. Every time he'd finish one, he'd toss the empty box to the side towards the dining table, and Prompto would pass him a new one from the ridiculous pile to his left. Any cards attached were immediately piled on the ground below the table, and after a while, Ignis came over and picked them up and started (what Prompto was affectionately calling) pity-reading them.

 

"Look," he starts, "this girl says she went to a fortune teller, and the mystic told her you'd fall for her. How adorable."

 

"Greaaaaaaaaaat," Noct drones on, with unmistakable sarcasm dripping from the extended vowel sound. 

 

"Maybe she should have spent that time and money actually speaking to you, if she was that interested." 

 

"Hmph, exactly." He pops another chocolate into his mouth, and keeps talking through his chewing. "'s goof choc'late, thgh..." The older man frowns, obviously disgusted.

 

"Ugh, please. Swallow before you talk. And put the chocolate down, you're not going to have any room for dinner."

 

Gladio, slicing meat for Ignis behind the kitchen counter, chimes in. "An' we're not gonna have enough to melt down into cake if ya eat it all. So can it."

 

Noct pouts again, slightly, swallowing the last of the chocolate and pushing the empty box of the table. "I'm not eating whatever gross vegetable mess you're making, so let's just skip to the cake, alright?"

 

"Actually," Ignis begins, "I found some high quality prime-cut steak for quite a nice price yesterday, so we'll be having those for dinner instead. Put the chocolate down." He's never seen Noct move faster, shooting upright and kicking away the remnants of boxes at his feet.

 

"Ya spoil him too much, Iggy. He's always gonna be a brat if we don' make him eat his veggies." Gladio twirls the knife in his hand, and Ignis sighs, defeated, and stands up to join him in preparation. 

 

When dinner's ready, the four of them sit down at the marble dinner table as the bespectacled man passes plates around. The steaks are juicy; succulent and dripping and seasoned just right with an expertly chosen blend of spices, and Prompto scarfs the whole thing down in minutes and it's the best thing he's ever eaten (sorry, mom). Noct chews at it slowly, moving his vegetable garnishes onto Ignis's plate while the other man is distracted in conversation. 

 

"So," he starts, "Prompto?" The blond looks back at the man, questioningly.

 

"Yo, Iggy, what's up?"

 

"We all see the incredulously grand stack that His Majesty has received, but what about you? Did you attract the fancy of any nice ladies? Or lads?"

 

"Huh?" His eyes dart to his bag, still zipped up and exactly as he left it. "Haha, uh, no, I didn't! No one's gonna give chocolate to the blond nobody who sits in front of the Prince!" 

 

"Hmm." He watches Ignis turn to stare menacingly at Noct, who raises his arms in surrender and mouths an apology. Probably got caught moving vegetables around, Prompto thinks. 

 

"Maybe you missed 'em, dude, you're hardly a nobody," Gladio offers. "We'll check all the boxes in Noct's fuckton to make sure none 'a them are for you." 

 

"While we make the cake?" Prompto asks, desperate to get the topic away from chocolate so his body doesn't betray him somehow.

 

"Cake," Noct echoes. It was Ignis's turn to raise his arms in surrender.

 

"Fine, we'll make the bloody cake. Start bringing me boxes so I can find ones I can use."

 

"Yessir!" Prompto salutes, and him and Gladio help Ignis pick out pieces that would work, with Noct lounging uselessly to the side eating everything deemed unusable (anything with filling or nuts, or homemade chocolate the confectioner deemed too low-quality). After a whole lot of prodding, Ignis agrees to let them help with the whole process, and it was the most fun Prompto has had in a long time. He felt a little bad about how smug it made him feel that he was here with Noct, and that Noct was paying attention to _him_ and smiling at _him_ while all the letters attached to the candies went entirely unnoticed, forgotten and never to be read by their intended recipient.

 

He was helping Ignis frost tiny little flowers on as decoration (he always went all out) when he heard the Prince laugh at something dumb Gladio had said, throwing his head back and squeezing his eyes shut with laughter. It made his heart swell and he accidentally squeezed the baggy so hard the entire pouch of frosting burst, most of it piling on the cake with a couple globs flying onto his and Ignis's faces.

 

After a couple seconds of dead silence, he turns and attempts to squeak out a bunch of rapid apologies to the man, red past his ears, as Ignis wipes chocolate frosting off his glasses looking more upset about the ruined decorations than any sort of mess. Prompto tries his best to tune out the sound of Gladio and Noct losing their shit from behind him, because yeah, he wanted Noct to laugh but not _at_ him.

 

"I have dibs on the piece with all the frosting on it!" Noct calls, and Prompto swears under his breath that he didn't think of that first. Ignis spins him around while the Prince inspects the cake and starts wiping his face clean. If this were a romantic comedy of sorts, Noct would be cleaning him off with his tongue, but Prompto gets Ignis aggressively pushing on his face instead because he wasn't nearly that lucky. He watched, somewhat longingly, as Noct licked his lips, tongue dragging slowly over his bottom lip as he cut himself a rather large piece of cake overflowing with the spilled frosting, and Prompto filed the image away for later use. The bespectacled man had moved down to the traces of frosting trailed on Prompto's white undershirt, scrubbing at it in an attempt to remove the stain. 

 

"Ugh, bloody chocolate-", Ignis groans, frustrated as his efforts seemed to become more and more futile. He was shoved off to the bathroom to wash it out with soap before it could stick, and he took the time to take a breather (and fix his hair). His uniform was now unwearable, soggy and chocolate stained, and he was glad he had packed a spare and turned to the door go grab it, but his eyes drift to the pile of laundry stuffed behind the bathroom door instead and in a moment of weakness, he picks one of Noct's dark baggy shirts out of the pile and puts it on instead. The Prince wouldn't mind, Prompto had worn his clothes before. He buries his face in the front and takes a deep breath, getting the urge out of his system, and sneaks back out.

 

"-just talk to him," was all Prompto heard Ignis say before he noticed the blond's return and welcomed him back to the party. Noct's arms were crossed and he was pouting, like Ignis had been lecturing him about something. 

 

"Hey, man, that's my shirt," he points out, breaking Prompto's thoughts about what Noct could've done wrong in the ten minutes he was in the bathroom, and he shrugs in response.

 

"Yeah? So?"

 

Noct laughs slightly. "Alright, fair. C'mon, cake's done." 

 

They turned on the TV and ate their cake, Gladio putting on some action movie for background noise. The cake was somehow better than last year's, and one slice is rich enough to make Prompto never want to touch chocolate again until the inevitable Valentine's cake next year. He wipes his mouth off on the napkins provided as Ignis chews Noct out for using his sleeve instead, and leans back against the couch. He could almost die happy. Almost.

 

His eyes drift to his bag, still crumpled up on the floor where he left it. Buying the damn chocolates was going to haunt him until the day he died. If he gave the chocolates to Noct, he'd probably hate himself for bothering him with his stupid feelings, but if he didn't do it he was going to hate himself for being a coward. Either way, he already did hate himself most of the time anyway, so what's a little more self-loathing on top of that? A couple more hours and the day would be over, anyway, and once it was Prompto wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

 

There was a sudden sound of utensils clattering, before Ignis stands up, carrying all their dishes towards the sink. He gently sets the pile down in the sink and leaves them there, which was very unlike him, and announced abruptly that he and Gladio were now leaving.

 

"Huh? We are?" 

 

Noct stands up, hands on his hips. "No, you're not! It's like, eight, it's too early to go to bed-" He starts, but Ignis cuts him off.

 

"You should be trying to study. Tomorrow is still a school day, after all."

 

"But-" 

 

"No buts, Noct," he says firmly. "You and Prompto are busy students and have lots of work to do. So go on, chop-chop."

 

Noct actually whimpers. "Don't leave me, man!"

 

Leave him with what? Was Ignis on to something he wasn't? Dread rose in Prompto's chest as he tries to keep his imagination from taking off with all the worst case scenarios.

 

It was quite a sight to see the man dragging someone Gladio's size out the door, and he left with a quick wave, Gladio grinning and shutting the door behind them. 

 

"Ah, that bastard, I'll kick his ass-" Noct was mumbling under his breath and Prompto was growing more and more worried.

 

"S-So, guess it's just us now, huh? They left pretty quickly, I-I hope nothing's wrong!" 

 

"...Prompto."

 

Oh gods, he did not like that tone of voice. He tries to say 'yeah, Noct?' in response but it comes out as unintelligible babbling instead, and he kicks himself for it, taking a deep breath and trying again. 

 

"Y-Yeah? What- what did you mean by 'don't leave me', Noct?"

 

The Prince is silent. Prompto is too, for a little bit.

 

"Do you, like. Want me to leave?" That gets a reaction out of him.

 

"What? No, gods, no!" He snaps, and then holds his head in his hands. "I just wanted him to be here when I did this-"

 

Prompto was done for. "D-Did what?" he says, barely above a whisper. "D-Did I do something wrong, Noct?"

 

He spins around and grabs Prompto's shoulders, and it’s a little rougher than he would've liked. He winces slightly, and Noct frowns apologetically and loosens his grip.

 

"Sorry, man, just- ...You didn't do anything. Don't go." He looks genuinely worried, and Prompto gently places his hands over Noct's, comfortingly.

 

"I won't." 

 

"Good."

 

He rubs slow circles on back of Noct's right hand with his thumb, and revels slightly in the Prince's proximity. He was close enough that Prompto could feel his warmth, and see his eyelashes flutter slightly when he blinked. 

 

"So, um, what did you want then, Noct?"

 

Noct takes his left hand, reaches under the couch, and pulls out one of the stupid huge designer chocolate boxes, setting it on Prompto's lap.

 

"Huh? You got more than one of those? I told you, I don't just want your leftovers-"

 

Noct shakes his head. "No, I only got the one. This one, I." He bites his lip slightly, and this is the most awkward Prompto has seen him since middle school. "I bought this one. F-For you. Since you were looking at them."

 

He blushes straight up to his ears. "Huh? For- Man, y-you didn't have to go this far for just pity chocolates!" 

 

He tries to laugh it off, but his heart drops straight out of his chest when the most crestfallen expression Prompto has ever seen spreads itself over Noct's features.

 

"I- Oh gods, Noct, don't cry please, I really appreciate it! Even if they are just-"

 

"Stop. Just stop," Noct cuts him off, sounding more angry than anything. The pressure on his shoulder tightens again. "All these damn boxes and the one guy I actually want thinks I'm giving him _pity chocolate-_ "

 

Listening to the strain in Noct's voice hurt, and he wanted to do something to make sure he never sounded like this again-

 

Wait.

 

_Actually want?_

 

It was Prompto's turn to grab Noct, throwing his hands onto his biceps and squeezing the muscle beneath. "Wait, what was that?! W-What do you mean, _actually want_?!"

 

"Sorry it freaks you out this much," he mumbles under his breath. "You can just leave now." 

 

He lets go and scrambles for his bag, ripping the chocolates out of the bottom. Nearly tripping on the rug on the way back, the blond throws himself back onto the couch and, finally, gives Noctis the chocolates. 

 

"I-I got some for you too, um. Sorry it's not as extravagant, but..."

 

"...I love it, Prom. Thank you."

 

He sits up straight, grinning like an idiot in love (which he was), and rubs the back of his neck. "Shucks, Noct, you're welcome! I saw it a-at the store a couple weeks ago and thought about you, and-"

 

Noct smiles back again, and there went his heart for a second time. 

 

"A couple weeks ago..? Why didn't you give it to me earlier?"

 

"Well, you had so many already! I didn't think you'd care about one more..."

 

Noct sets his gift down on top of the designer chocolate on the floor, and pulls Prompto into his arms. The blond lets out a small oomph, before resting his head against Noct's shoulder. He's warm, he smells good, and Prompto's convinced he's died and gone to heaven.

 

"I care more about yours than I do literally every other damn box in this room put together, Prom."

 

"Hehe. Thanks, Noct..." He trails off when one of Noct's hands holds the back of his head, his fingers sliding through hair and sending Prompto into a state of sheer bliss as he wraps his arms around the other boy's waist and nuzzles back against his hand. 

 

They stay like that for a second, Prompto wishing he could somehow preserve the feeling of hugging Noct forever like he did when he took a photo. The hand on his head slides down his jawline to his chin, and he leans back to look up when Noct pushes softly. He licks his lips in anticipation, but the Prince just leans in and presses his lips to Prompto's forehead.

 

"I like you a lot, Prom. Sorry 'f that's weird, or-"

 

Prompto sits back a little to look Noct in the eyes. "No, man, that's not weird at all- Well, it's a little weird, but not in the way you're worried about..."

 

Noct's nose scrunches up a little with the frown. "How, then?"

 

"It's just weird that you like me, of all people."

 

The frown turns into a full-on pout. "I still don't get it. You're cute, especially in my clothes, and talented, and funny, and-" He's stopped when Prompto slaps his hands over his mouth.

 

"O-Okay, okay, I get it! St-Stop, please!" His hands are forcibly moved away so Noct can continue.

 

"Why?"

 

"Because! Ugh, Noct, you're making me blush-"

 

"You're already blushing, though. Pretty hard."

 

He groans exasperatedly and slumps back against the Prince's chest, pouting into it. 

 

"It's just that... You're Noctis Lucis Caelum. 'n I'm just some nobody, some average loser."

 

"Yeah, but you're some average loser that I love."

 

"Mmmmmmgh." His grumble is half-muffled by Noct's chest. Noct's hands slide themselves down Prompto's body, resting on his hips.

 

"So can I kiss you yet, or what."

 

"Ugh, you're so blunt." He wraps his arms around Noct's shoulders and presses their lips together. 

 

It's warm, and more satisfying than he'd ever imagined. Prompto pushes himself right up against the Prince, eager to get as much contact as he possibly can between them. Noct angles his head slightly and the kiss deepens, and it's sloppy and inexperienced and the blond has no idea what he's doing but gods does he love every second of it. They pull apart, and Prompto holds the back of Noct's head and leans their foreheads together. The other boy is smiling at him, that smile he's come to love so much, and another shot of warmth surges through him when he realizes the fond expression is for him and him alone. 

 

He reaches up and gently pokes the dent at the corner of Noct's mouth, causing the Prince to recoil slightly.

 

"Happy Valentine's Day, Noct."

 

**Author's Note:**

> i have a twitter, @princesstooru


End file.
